Warning as cold health alert upgraded to amber for the South East with temperatures expected to fall

The UK Health Security Agency, in partnership with the Met Office, upgraded the warning to amber for today (December 31) to 10am on Tuesday, January 6. The warning is for the South East with Portsmouth and the surrounding area forecast to experience lows of -3C in the coming days.

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The warning signifies that the weather is “likely to cause significant impacts across health and social care services”. These impacts include the below:

• a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions. We may also see impacts on younger age groups
• a likely increase in demand for health services
• temperatures inside places like hospitals, care homes, and clinics dropping below the levels recommended for assessing health risks
• challenges keeping indoor temperatures at the recommended 18°C leading to more risk to vulnerable people
• staffing issues due to external factors (such as travel delays)
• other sectors starting to observe impacts (such as transport and energy)

Further information can be found on the UKHSA website.